Even though Obamacare isn’t set to go into effect until October, Purdue University is already looking at a potential $2.8 million bill as a result.
The Indiana university will have to bear that cost to provide insurance for its 27,000 employees and their families under the new law. Earlier this week, the university’s Board of Trustees’ Audit and Insurance Committee met to review some of the medical option policies for school employees, something they usually don’t do until October.
“We are making some pretty radical changes because of health care reform,” Eva Nodine, Purdue’s benefits director, told WLFI-TV. “So we wanted to make sure we had enough time to educate our employees because education is key.”
WLFI-TV also reported about $2.8 million in added fees and claims are being included in the committee’s recommendations for next year. Among the recommendations, the committee came up with two plans: One high deductibles but tax-free health savings accounts, and the other has a lower deductible but lacks a health-savings account.
While the Big Ten school is set to vote on the recommendations Friday, not every university in the U.S. can afford such radical financial changes. St. Petersburg College and Hillsborough Community College, both in Florida, decided they would have to cut the hours of adjunct faculty members because they could not afford the $777,000 it would cost to fund their health care under the Affordable Care Act.
“Americans and students should not be punished for this train wreck of a law, but that is exactly what is happening while President Obama and leading Democrats pretend the law is ‘wonderful,'” a spokesman for the Republican National Committee said in an email.
The Obama administration’s policies have been tough economically on schools in Indiana in general. Last week, the Carmel Clay School District reported a $300,000 loss because of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move!” initiative’s mandated school lunches.
Watch the full WLFI-TV report here.
